Nakae was originally a follower of the teachings of the Chinese neo-Confucian Rationalist Zhu Xi, whose doctrines had become a part of the official ideology of the Japanese government. In 1634 he asked to be released from the post he held as retainer to his feudal lord so he could return to his native village and carry out his filial obligations to his widowed mother. He left despite his lord’s refusal of permission. At home he devoted himself to teaching and study, eventually abandoning his adherence to the Zhu Xi school of thought and becoming a propagator of the philosophy of Wang Yangming. His fame subsequently spread throughout the land. He attracted many distinguished disciples and became known as the sage of Ōmi province.

Both Wang and Nakae believed that the unifying principle of the universe exists in the human mind and not in the external world. They taught that the true Way could be discovered through intuition and self-reflection, rejecting Zhu Xi’s idea that it could be found through empirical investigation. In his conviction that a concept can be fully understood only when acted upon, Nakae emphasized practice rather than abstract learning. This emphasis on individual action made Nakae’s philosophy popular among the zealous Japanese reformers and patriots of the 19th and 20th centuries. Tōju sensei zenshū (“The Complete Works of Master Tōju”) was first published in five volumes in 1940.

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